Method of and means for tying knots



March 17, 1942. E. BRASSEL ET AL METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR TYING KNO'IS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 16, 1939 March 17, 1942.

E. BRASSEL ET AL METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR TYING KNOTS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 00. 16 1939 March 17, 1942. E. BRASSEL ETAL METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR TYING KNOTS Filed Oct. 16, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 fizz/anion" E. B'RASSEL Er AL METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR TYING KNOTS March 17, 1942.

Filed Oct. 16, 1939 4 Sheets- Sheet 4 Patented Mar. 17, 1942 FHCE ll IETE-IOD F AND MEANS FOR TYING KNOTS Ernst Brassel and Erwin Miinger, Thayngen, Switzerland, assignors to Knorr-Nahrmittel Aktiengesellschaft, Thayngen, Switzerland Application October 16, 1939', Serial No. 299,756 In Switzerland October 29, 1938 12 Claims.

This invention relates to a method of and means for making knots of string, thread. wire or the like, which serve to tie up articles, and more particularly the invention relates to the automatic formation of knots adapted to tie up the ends of wrapped articles having the shape of sausages, or to close bags and the like. Heretofore such knots have mostly been tied by hand, and the primary object of the invention is to replace the manual tying of such knots by the provision of an improved method of and a machine for mechanically tying knots adapted for the above mentioned use.

The method according to the invention consists in winding 9. piece of knot material, such as string, thread or wire, on a winding member in at least two relatively staggered and super posed windings in loose shape, stripping this loose knot off the winding member and pushing it upon the article to be tied, and then pulling the knot tight.

The machine for making the knot according to the invention comprises a winding device having a rotatable winding member arranged for axial movement and provided with means for.

clamping a piece of knot material thereto means for imparting at least two revolutions to the winding member in order to place the knot material in at least two windings about the same, means for axially moving the winding member to-and-fro during its movements of rotation, and a stripping member for stripping the wound knot from the winding member and sliding it upon the article.

The piece of knot material may be folded in two halves before its clamping to the winding member so as to present a loop at one of its ends by means of which the article, after the knot has been pulled tight, can be suspended.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of a knot tying machine and a modification thereof.

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a knot tying machine according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a section according to the line IIII of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a section according to the line IIIIII of Fi 2.

Figure 4 is IVIV of Fig. 3.

Figure 5 is a section according to the line V-V of Fig. 2.

Figure 6 is a section according to the 1 line VI-VI of Fig. 2.

a section according to the line a vertical frame plate H'l (Figs. 1 and 2).

Figure 7 is a partial'plan view of the string feeding device.

Figure 8 is a section according to the line VIII-VIII of Figure 2, showing the mechanism for imparting rotation to the knot winding member.

Figure 9 is an axial section through the winding member.

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the front end of the winding member showing the manner of feeding the string destined to form a knot.

Figure 11 is a perspective View showing a piece of string wound around the front end of the winding member.

Figure 12 is a vertical section through the front end of the windingmember showing the two ends of the string ready to be gripped by the knot tightening members.

Figure 13 shows the loose knot placed upon the article to be tied.

Figure 14 shows the finished knot.

Figure 15 shows a modified arrangement of a knot tying machine according to the invention.

Referring to the drawings, the represented knot tying machine comprises a base plate I carrying a vertical frame member 2 and spaced therefrom -A horizontally extending L-shaped frame member 3, 3a is disposed between the member 2 and plate Ill; the branch 3 of this L-shapedmember is secured to the plate Ill intermediate its height, while the branch 3a, bent over at right angles, is united with the top of the vertical frame member 2. The branch 3 carries a bearing 4 in which is mounted a horizontal windingtube 5. The rear end of this tube traverses the branch 3a of the horizontally extending frame member.

A main driving shaft 1 (Fig. 1) is connected to any suitable, not represented power source. A cam 8 secured to the shaft 1 coacts with a cam follower 9 carried by a lever H) which is pivotally mounted on a standard ll supported by the base plate I and which is subjected to the action of a spring 9' acting to apply the follower 9 against the cam 8. The lever H) (Fig. 8) is connected by a link IE to a slide l3 which is vertically movable along a guide is secured to the frame member 2. The slide i3 is provided with a rack l5 which mesheswith a pinion 16 mounted on a shaft ll (Figs. 1 and 2) to which is also secured a gear wheel It. This latter meshes with a pinion 19 which is mounted on the winding tube 5 by the intermediary of a key 20 (Fig. 9) capable of sliding in a groove 2| extending to the rear end 6 of the winding tube. Thusthe pinion I6 tube.

communicates a movement of rotation to the tube 5 but is capable of axial movement relatively to the tube 5. The pinion I9 is integral with a sleeve 22 secured to a collar 23; a second sleeve 24 is loosely mounted on the sleeve 22 and has its portion penetrating through the frame member 3 provided with a screw thread on which are screwed a nut 25 and a counter-nut 26 for clamping the sleeve 24 to the frame member 3 and thus holding the pinion l9 stationary in axial direction while the tube 5 is axially movable.

The main driving shaft 1 which is journaled in a standard 21, carries a bevel wheel 28 meshing with a bevel wheel 29 fixed on a shaft 39 which is journaled in standards 3| and 32 (Figs. 1 and 2). The shaft carries a cam wheel 33 coacting with a cam follower 34 carried by a lever 35 which engages a collar 36 secured to the winding tube 5 by means of a screw 31 (Fig. 9). Rotation imparted to the cam wheel 33 causes oscillation of the lever 35 and accordingly an axial to-and-fro movement of the tube 5. A spring 38 (Fig. 2) holds the cam follower 34 applied against the cam wheel 33. p

The front portion of the winding tube 5 extends through a stripping tube 39 (Figs. 9 to 11) which is axially movable independently of the winding tube 5, but which turns together with the winding tube. Axial movement of the stripping tube is effected by means of a cam wheel 40 carried by the shaft 30 (Fig. 1) and coacting with a cam follower 4| on a lever 42 engaging a collar 43 secured to the stripping tube 39 by means of a screw 44. Rotation of the cam wheel 46 causes an oscillating movement of the lever 42 and a corresponding axial movement of the stripping tube 39. A spring 45 maintains the cam follower 4| applied against the cam wheel 40. The end of the stripping tube is provided with a thread cutting knife 54 the purpose of which will appear later on.

The front end of the winding tube 5 is provided with two radially extending thread carriers 46 (Figs. 9 to 11) and the front end of the strip ping tube 39 is provided with a recess 4'! permitting axial movement of the stripping tube, relative to the winding tube 5 until the front end of the stripping tube arrives at the front end of the winding tube. This latter carries a supporting piece 48 on which is adjustably fixed, by means of screws 49, a clamping spring 50, the front end of which coacts with the front end of the winding pipe for clamping the piece of thread or string used for forming the knot. The supporting piece 48 extends through a slot 5| in the stripping tube 39, for permitting axial movement of the stripping tube relatively to the winding The free end of the spring 59 fits in a notch 52 provided at the front end of the winding tube 5 (Figs. 10 and 11) to ensure a safe clamping of the thread or string. The end of the stripping tube 39 cooperates with the clamping spring in such manner that upon advancing the stripping tube, the end of this tube slightly lifts the spring off the tube 5 in order that the piece of thread 53 can be introduced between the spring end and the tube (Fig. 10).

The thread or string serving for tying the knot is fed from a ball 55 (Figs. 1 and 5) which is disposed in a cup 56 formed on a frame member 51. The thread 58 passes through a thread clamp 59, over a guide fork 69, through a guide 6|, a clamp 62 and a guide 63 to be gripped by nippers 64. One of the clamping jaws of these nippers is provided with a rearwardly directed extension 65 having its end engaged in a guide 66 which is pivotally mounted at 61. The guide 66 is connected by a link 68 to a lever 69 carrying a cam follower 70 which a spring 1| applies against a cam wheel 12 on the shaft 1. Rotation of this cam wheel results in a movement of oscillation of the lever 69 and of the guide 66, which causes opening and closing of the nippers 64 in the desired moment for releasing the gripped end of the thread or for gripping a new length of thread.

The nippers 64 are carried by a slide 2 |5 movable along guides 22| and connected by a rod 2|6 to a lever 2|"! carrying a cam follower 2 l8 which is applied by means of a spring 220 against a cam wheel 222 mounted on shaft 1. Rotation of this cam wheel results in a vertical movement of the nippers 64.

When the nippers 64 grip the free end of the thread as shown in dash and dot lines in Fig. 5, a thread feeder pin 13 engages the thread at the right side thereof as shown in dash and dot lines in Fig. 5. This pin 13 is secured to a slide 14 (Fig. 7) movable in a guide 15 which itself is carried by a slide 16 movable along guides 11. The slide 16 is connected by means of a rod 18 to a lever 19 carrying a cam follower applied against a cam wheel 8| on the main driving shaft 1 by means of a spring 82. Rotation of the cam wheel 8| results in an oscillating movement of the lever 19 and accordingly in a movement of the slide 16 along the guides Tl. Thus the thread feeder 13 can move from the position shown in dash and dot lines in Fig. 5 to the position shown in full lines in Figs. 5 and 7, and during this movement, while the end of the thread 58 is gripped by the nippers 64, the feeder l3 unwinds a certain length of thread which is folded in two halves so as to form a loop 83.

The slide 14 of the thread feeder 13 is engaged in an oscillatable guide 84 pivotally mounted at 85. At the rear end, not shown in Fig. 7, the guide 84 is engagedby a lever 86 (Fig. 1) pivoted at 81 on the base plate I and carrying a cam follower 88 which is applied against the cam wheel 69. Rotation of the cam wheel 89 causes a movement of oscillation of the lever and of the guide 84 which produces a backwards and forwards motion of the slide 14 with the thread feeder 13. The cam wheels 8| and 89 cooperate in such manner that when the slide 16 is in its extreme right hand position as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, the slide 14 advances so as to bring the thread feeder against the thread; then the slide (6 moves to its left hand position shown in Fig. 7 and when it arrives there, the slide 14 is retracted to the position shown in dash and dot lines in this figure.

Before such retraction of the thread feeder 13, the looped end 83 of the thread is gripped by nippers 90 (Fig. 2), so as to hold the looped thread in the position in which it had been brought by the thread feeder 13. One of the jaws of the nippers 90 carries an upwardly directed extension 9| which is applied by means of a spring against an abutment roller 92 carried by an arm 93 fast on a frame member 94. The other jaw of the nippers is formed on a lever 96 connected by a rod 91 to a lever 99 carrying a cam follower 99 which is applied against a not represented cam wheel on the shaft 39 by means of a spring I90. Rotation of this cam wheel causes an oscillating movement of the levers 98 and 96 and a corresponding opening or closing movement of the nippers 90. A movement of the lever 96 in clockwise direction causes gradual opening of the nippers, the jaw extension 9| sliding upwards along the roller 92 which opens the jaw, while movement of the lever 93 in opposite direction causes gradual closure of the nippers.

When the thread feeder I3 is retracted from the thread loop 83, a pair of pliers IllI grip the looped end (Figs. and and pull the thread transversely relatively to the winding tube 5 in front of this tube as represented in Fig. 10. One of the jaws of these pliers I BI is provided with a rearwardly directed extension I02 slidably engaged in a guide lever I03 pivotally mounted at I04 on the frame. The guide I03 is connected by a rod I05 to a lever I03 carrying a cam follower IIlI which is applied by a spring I33 against a cam wheel I53. This cam wheel is mounted on a shaft IIIl journaled in standards III and receiving its movement from the shaft 30 by means of bevel gears I I2 (Fig. l). A movement of rotation of the cam wheel Hi9 results in an oscillation of the lever I85 and of the guide lever I03 to cause opening and closing of the tongs IDI in the desired moment. These tongs are carried by a slide II3 which is connected by a rod H4 to a lever II5 pivotally mounted at H5 on the frame plate In. The lever II5 carries a cam follower II 8 applied against a cam wheel II 9 by a spring I20. Movement of the cam wheel II9 causes oscillation of the lever I I5 and a reciprocating movement of the slide II3'. Thus when the tongs IIII grip the looped end 83 of the thread, the slide I I3 moves towards the left in Fig. 5 and the thread is pulled in front of the winding tube 5 as shown in Fig. 10.

A pair of scissors I2I (Fig. '7) is provided to cut the looped thread to the desired length. The two jaws of the scissors are pivoted on a frame member I22 and the rear end of each jaw is connected by a rod I23 and I25, respectively, (Fig. l) to a lever I25 pivoted on an axis I23 to which is secured a link I2! connected to a rod I23. This rod is connected to a lever I29 pivoted at I35 on a standard I3I and carrying a cam follower I32 which is applied against a cam wheel I33 by a spring I3 3. Upon rotation of the cam wheel I33, the lever I25 executes a movement of oscillation which causes the scissors to close and to open for cutting the desired length of thread from the unwinding thread 58.

When the cut off piece of thread 53 (Fig. 10) has been moved in front of the winding tube 5 by the tongs IiiI and is held tensioned by the friction of the nippers 98, the stripping tube 39 is moved forward relatively to the winding tube and lifts the clamping spring 53 off the winding tube. Both tubes 5 and 39 are then slightly moved forwards so that the thread is engaged between the spring 58 and the tube 5, and after retraction of the stripping tube 39, the thread is tightly gripped between the spring and the tube 5. The tongs IIlI now abandon the looped end of the thread and the winding tube 5 starts to turn owing to the action of the cam 8 and the rack I5. The tube 5 thus makes about two and one half revolutions. Simultaneously the tube 5 is axially moved owing to the action of the lever 35 and the cam 33. Owing to the movement of rotation of the tube 5, the thread is wound around the tube and the guide nippers 90 hold the thread with such friction, that the thread is laid close about the tube and the thread carriers '46. During about the first half revolution of the tube 5, this latter is pulled slightly backwards and afterwards it is moved forwards; accordingly, the first winding I of the thread is laid around the tube 5 (Fig. 11), and owing to further axial displacement the second winding I36 extends backwards and passes over th first winding I35 and over the thread carriers 46 which are provided with recesses I37 for retaining the thread. Now the tube 5 is again axially retracted for a slight amount, so that the third winding I38 passes over the second windingIBS and over steps I39 of the thread carriers, these steps having a smaller radial distance from the tube 5 than the recesses I3'I. The looped end 83 of the thread now penetrates from between the second and third winding.

Above the winding tube 5 there is disposed a hook or needle I40 (Figs, 2, 5 and 11) which can move up and down, and forwards and backwards. This hook is attached to a slide MI movable along guides I32 which are carried by a vertically movabl slide I43 moving in guides I I I. The slide MI is connected by a rod I45 to a lever Hi5 (carrying a cam follower I i! which is applied by means of a spring I58 against a cam wheel I39. Rotation of this wheel causes an oscillating movement of the lever I46 and accordingly a horizontal reciprocating movement of the hook I451. The vertical slide M3 is connected by a rod I50 to a lever I5I carrying a cam follower I52 and applied against a cam wheel I53 by a spring I54. Rotation of this cam wheel results in a vertical movement of the hook I43. In Fig. 2 the hook is represented in raised position. After the piece of thread has been wound around the winding tube 5, the hook is lowered and then pushed forwards and slightly raised again. In this manner, the hook is advanced between the two thread iCaIIlelS 46 (Fig. 11) and engages the third winding I33 of the thread. Now the hook is moved backwards and pulls the winding I38 underneath and past the second winding I35, whereby the free end of the thread is pulled out of the nippers 93; afterwards the hook with the engaged thread is raised again to the position shown in Figure 2. The thread wound about the tube 5 now possesses the required shape for forming a knot, as represented in Fig. 12. It is now only necessary to grip the two ends of the wound up thread, to strip the windings ed the winding tube on the article to be tied, and to pull the knot tight Two pairs of gripping ton-gs I55 and I55, one above and one below the winding tube 5, are provided for gripping the two ends of the thread wound on the winding tube, and for pulling the knot tight (Figs 3 and 12). One of the jaws of tHe tongs I55 is provided with a downwardly directed extension I51 engaging a guide lever I58 pivotally mounted at I59. The tongs I55 themselves are carried by a slide I35 which is vertically movable in guides I6I and which is connected by means of a rod I52 to a lever I63 carrying a cam follower I64 which is applied against a cam wheel I55 by a spring I36. The guide I55 is connected by a link I5? to a lever I53 carrying a cam follower IE5 which is applied against a cam wheel III] by means of a spring Ill. The lever I53 is pivotally mounted at I 72 on a standard I73, while the lever I38 is pivotally mounted at I'I l on the base plate I. The cam wheels IE5 and Ill? are mounted on the shaft I I0.

It is understood that rotation of these two wheels causes a movement of oscillation of the two levers.

closing movement of the jaws of the tongs I55 combined with a vertical reciprocating movement of the tongs, so that these latter grip the looped end of the thread wound on the tube 5 and may pull the knot tight after it had been stripped from the winding tube and pushed on the article to be tied.

One of the jaws of the upper gripping tongs I56 is provided with an extension I engaging a guide lever I16 which is pivotally mounted at I11 on the frame. The tongs themselves are carried by a slide I18 movable in guides I19 and connected by a link I80 .to a rod I8I (Figs, 1 and 2) which is vertically movable in guides I82 and connected by a link I83 to a lever I84 pivotally mounted at I85 on a standard I86 and carrying a cam follower IB'I which is applied against a cam wheel I88 by the action of a spring I89. The guide lever I16 cooperates with a push rod I90 having an inclined end face I9I (Figs. 2 and 4). The rod I90 is guided in a fixed bracket I92 and urged against the guide lever I16 by means of a spring I93. The rod I 90 is connected to a lever I94 carrying a cam follower I95, which is applied against a cam wheel I96. The spring I93 tends to urge the rod I90 against the guide I16 whereby the inclined surface I9I produces a movement of oscillation of the guide I16 in clockwise direction in Fig. 3 resulting in an opening of the tongs I56, while the cam wheel I96 acts against the spring I93 and withdraws the push rod I90 from engagement with the guide I16, permitting the spring I91 to move the guide in counterclockwise direction to close the tones I56.

The articles I98 to be tied by the knot made with the described machine are represented as having sausage shape and being wrapped in any kind of wrapping material which is to be tied. These articles are brought in any known manner in wrapped condition on a feeding plate I99 to the place of operation in front of the winding tube 5, where they are in axial alignment with the winding tube. A holding member 206 is destined to maintain each article in place while the knot wound on the winding tube 5 is being pushed over the end of the wrapping material and pulled tight by the tongs I55 and I56. The holding member 200 is carried by a slide I movable in guides 202. A spring 203 urges the holding member downwardly against the article so as to provide a yielding pressure, and an abutment nut 204 is provided to limit and adjust the movement of the holding member. A bolt 205 penetrating through a slot 206 in the guide 202 connects the slide 20I to one end of a lever 201 pivotally mounted at 298 and having its other end connected to a rod 209 which itself is connected to a lever 2 I0 carrying a cam follower 2II icoacting with a cam wheel 2I2 on the shaft (Fig. 1).

When an article I98 arrives opposite the free end of the winding tube 5, as shown in Figure 2, the knot has been wound on the tube and the two ends of the knot are being gripped by the tongs I55 and I56; this is the position shown in Fig. 12. The winding tube 5 and the stripping tube 39 are now advanced towards the article I96 so that the tube 5 passes over the shrunk end of the wrapping material. Then the stripping tube 39 alone advances and lifts the clamping spring off the winding tube to release the clamped end of the wound up thread while simultaneously stripping the thread from the winding tube to place it on the shrunk end of the wrapping material as represented in Fig. 13. The two tongs I and I56 are now moved outwardly relatively to the article by corresponding movement of the controlling cam wheels I65 and I88 and pull the knot tight. Then the two tubes 5 and 39 are rotated together in the direction of the arrow 1 in Fig. 10, so that the forwardly projecting knife 54 cuts the free end 2I2 (Fig. 13) of the thread. The looped end 83 is not cut and can serve to suspend the article. The holding member 200 is now lifted again from the article and this latter being released, can move further along the feedway I99 to fall in a not represented receiving box or the like. Untying of the knot made as described, by a pulling action on one of the ends of the thread, is not possible.

For tying the other end of the articles I98 of sausage shape, these latter can be brought on the feedway in reversed position. However, it is'also possible to provide a winding device on either side of the feedway so that the article can be simultaneously tied at both ends. Such a machine is diagrammatically represented in Fig. 15. The feedway I99 carrying articles I98 is disposed in the center of the machine. At the place of operation, the article is held by a holding member 200 similar to that described with reference to Fig. 6. At either side of the article there is disposed a winding device similar to that described and comprising each a winding tube 5 and a stripping tube 39. There are two shafts 30 each carrying the series of cams necessary for the operation of one of the winding devices, while a single shaft H0 is sufficient for carrying the two pairs of cams required for the operation of the lower knot tightening tongs.

Since the article needs to be suspended with one of its ends only, a loop I5 must be provided at one side only of the article. Accordingly a double thread for forming the knot is required at one side only, while on the other side a simple thread will be used for making the knot, which otherwise is made in the same manner as the described knot with the double thread.

Although there is illustrated a particular embodiment of our improved knot tying machine, we do not desire our invention to be limited to the particular arrangements disclosed, and it is to be understood that various modifications in construction, form and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A machine for tying knots of string or the like, comprising a winding device having a rotatable winding member arranged for axial movement, means for clamping a piece of knot material thereto, means for imparting at least two revolutions to the winding member to place the knot material in at least two windings about the latter, means for axially moving the winding member to-and-fro during its movement of rotation, and a stripping member for stripping the wound knot from the winding member and sliding it upon an article.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the winding member forms a cylindrical body which, at one end, is provided with a clamping spring for holding the knot material, and which carries at least one radially directed string carrier in such manner that during rotation and axial movement of the winding member one winding is placed around the cylindrical surface of the winding member and another Winding over the string carrier.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 1, and comprising a, string carrier provided with two supporting faces for the knot material disposed at different radial distances from the axis of the winding member, the winding member being turned and displaced in such manner that one winding of the knot material is placed around the cylindrical face of the winding member, a second winding around the supporting surface having the greater radial distance, and a third winding around the supporting surface with smaller radial distance.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein two gripping tongs are arranged to move in a plane which is perpendicular to the axis of the winding member, and are destined to grip the two ends of the wound knot and to pull the same tight.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that a feeding way for feeding the articles to the winding device is provided opposite the end of the winding member, each article being maintained at the place of operation by a pressing plate.

6. A machine as claimed in claim 1, and comprising a feeding way and a winding device disposed on either side of the feeding way.

7. In a method of forming knots from string or like flexible material, the steps which comprise folding a piece of knot material in two halves to form a double length of knot material having a loop at one end thereof, clamping the looped end of knot material, winding the double length of knot material on a winding member to form a loose knot thereon, stripping the loose knot from the winding member, transferring the knot to an article to be tied, and then pulling the knot tight, whereby said article may be suspended on the looped end of the knot material.

8. In a method of forming knots from string or like flexible materials, the steps which comprise folding a piece of knot material in two halves to form a double length of knot material having a loop at one end thereof, clamping the looped end of the knot material to a winding member, winding the double length of knot material about the winding member in relatively staggered and superposed windings to form a loose knot thereon, bringing an article to be tied in position to receive the loose knot, stripping the loose knot from the winding member, transferring the loose knot on said article, and then pulling the knot tight, whereby said article may be suspended on the looped end of the knot material.

9. In a method of tying up articles which are to be suspended, the steps which comprise folding a piece of string in two halves to form a double length of string having a loop at one end thereof, clamping the looped end of the string to a winding member, winding the double length of string in two relatively staggered and superposed windings about the member, passing the free end of the double string underneath the first winding to form a loose knot on the winding member, bringing an article to be tied in position to receive the loose knot, stripping the loose knot from the winding member, transferring the loose knot on the article, and then pulling the knot tight, whereby said article may be suspended on the looped end of the string forming the knot.

10. A machine for tying knots of string or like material, comprising a winding device having 'a rotatable winding member arranged for axial movement, means for clamping one end of a piece of knot material thereto, means for imparting at least two revolutions to the winding member to place the knot material in substantially two windings about the winding member, means for axially moving the winding member to-andfro during its movement of rotation, a movable hook-shaped member for engaging the free end of the knot material and passing said end underneath one of the windings on the winding member to form a loose knot on said member, and a stripping member for stripping the loose knot from the winding member and transferring it upon an article.

11. A machine for tying knots of string or like flexible material, comprising a winding device having a rotatable winding member arranged for axial movement, a clamping spring carried by said winding member for clamping one end of a piece of knot material thereto, means for imparting a movement of rotation to the winding member to place the knot mate-rial in substantially two windings about the winding member, means for engaging the free end of the knot material wound on the winding member and passing this end underneath one of the windings on the winding member to form a loose knot thereon, an axially movable stripping pipe surrounding the winding member, means of moving the stripping pipe to the end of the winding member to strip the wound knot off the winding member and transferring it upon an article, the stripping pipe cooperating with said clamping spring upon being moved to the end of the winding member to lift the spring and release the clamped end of the knot material.

12. A machine for tying a knot of string or like flexible material about an article, comprising a winding device having a hollow rotatable winding member arranged for axial movement, means for feeding a piece of knot material transversely in front of the winding member, a clamping spring carried by said winding member, means for axially moving said winding member towards said transversely fed piece of knot material to have one end of the knot material engaged by said clamping spring, means for rotating the winding member to place the knot material in substantially two windings about the winding member, means for engaging the free end of the knot material wound on the winding member and for passing said end underneath one of the windings on the winding member to form a loose knot on this member, an axially movable stripping pipe surrounding the winding member, means for bringing an article in front of the hollow winding member, means for advancing the hollow winding member over one end of said article, means for moving said stripping pipe to the end of the winding member to strip the wound knot off the winding member and transferring it upon the article, said stripping pipe cooperating with said clamping spring upon being axially moved to the end of the winding member to lift the spring and release the clamped end of the knot material, and means for pulling the loose knot tight on said article.

ERNST BRASSEL. ERWIN Mi'INGER. 

